Taxi drivers in Bamenda turned out in their numbers on the streets this Friday morning to protest against escalating violence by separatist fighters after they were called by City Mayor Paul Achombong to come out and express their disgruntlement.
In placards displayed during the peaceful march, the drivers promised to “smoke” whoever had been attacking and burning driver’s taxis and homes.
The City Mayor had asked them to march from the City Chemist Roundabout in Bamenda this Friday, June 21, to the Commercial Avenue grandstand to express their frustration and disapproval of the recent attacks and unreasonable demands from separatist militants.
“I’ve asked them that everybody, with high instructions from the Minister… we should let you people express your mind,” he said in an interview.
“There’ll be no security, we’ll not bring any policemen to harass you or any gendarmerie or military. It’s a peaceful demonstration. You are not conversant with situations that are in the municipality. You pack your bikes, your taxis and your bikes you all peacefully, with your peace branches, march towards the grandstand.”
The Mayor’s call came amid increasing attacks involving the burning of vehicles and the killing of drivers and bike riders by separatists.
The Ambazonia Defence Forces, a faction of the separatist movement, have been pressuring cab drivers to repaint their vehicles from the government-mandated yellow to blue and white, colours symbolising the self-declared state of Ambazonia.
In a recent interview, Mayor Achobong emphasised the impossibility of this demand, stating that such a change could only occur through legislative action.
The drivers’ protest, he said, will culminate at the grandstand on Commercial Avenue in Bamenda with dialogue with city authorities.
Mayor Achobong has acknowledged the various hardships faced by these individuals, not only by the separatists but also due to the actions of the police and military.
“I know the calamities that have befallen all of you, not only the calamities of burnt taxis but also the recklessness of these soldiers, the police, and the gendarmes on the road when you have to ply your taxis,” he remarked.
Taxi and bike riders in Bamenda have found themselves caught between the measures imposed by both the administration and the armed separatists.
The recent surge in attacks by separatists has included the burning of a taxi belonging to a man with a physical disability, a loss that stripped him of his sole source of income.
Compounding the difficulties, the administration recently imposed a curfew on commercial bikes, the primary mode of transportation in the city.
This decision has been met with significant backlash from bike riders, who argue that it severely hampers their ability to earn a living.
